Strumming Along at Pickamania 2024

From its origins in the mid-1980s as a backyard party hosted in a garlic shed, Pickamania has evolved into an annual festival celebrating the love of acoustic music of all genres. Pickamania 2024, on Sept. 6, 7 and 8, will feature a talented line-up of bluegrass, Americana, and folk musicians at the Black Range Lodge in Kingston, NM.

The outdoor pavilion and shady landscape at the Black Range Lodge offers a pleasant environment for music and mingling. On Saturday, refreshments will be available throughout the afternoon and evening, including home-made apple pie, with fruit from the local Kingston orchard.  Black Range Vineyards will also be on hand to provide New Mexico wine and beer for purchase throughout the festival.

Pickamania will kick off 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6, with high-energy Americana originals from Pint & ½ (Tami & Duke Sheppard), a duo from Salida, CO. They’re followed by John & Jean Ronstadt of Tucson, AZ, who entertain with ballads, blues and canciones.

The fun continues at 3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 7, with Truth or Consequences pop singer Burt Ferguson, who opens with country rock and folk ballads. He’ll be followed by songstress Wil Maring and her partner, guitar and fiddle virtuoso and Nashville session musician Robert Bowlin, who’s repertoire ranges from traditional country, to blues, folk and bluegrass. 

Next, the duo of flat-picking guitar champions Peter McLaughlin and Chris Brashear (fiddle and mandolin) will offer an original blend of “southwestern” bluegrass music, shaped by the landscapes and legends of the west.  Saturday evening will culminate as Pickamania’s all-star musicians combine their talents in an audience-pleasing “Super Jam.”     

Sunday music will begin at noon, with John & Jean Ronstadt reprising their Friday evening performance of folk, Americana and Mexican ballads. They’ll be followed by Santa Fe’s High Desert Rangers, a high-energy group of legendary musicians (David Thom, mandolin, Ben Perea, banjo, Zeke Severson, upright bass, Jon Graboff, guitar) who perform traditional bluegrass tunes.

Since 2017 Pickamania has been held in the mountain community of Kingston, once a rich silver mining town, now a quiet hamlet surrounded by the Gila National Forest, about 30 minutes west of I-25. Come earlier on Saturday afternoon for a community-wide yard sale and tours of the Kingston Ghost Town Museum, the Victorio Hotel and Historic Percha Bank. Fresh-picked organic apples and fresh squeezed apple cider will also be for sale at the Kingston orchard.

Sponsored by the Sierra County Arts Council, admission is $20 for Friday, $35 for Saturday, and Sunday $20. A 3-day Festival Pass is $60 per person.  Advance tickets are available at the door and online at SierraCountyArts.org/. The SCAC is supported by a grant from New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.  For more information call the Black Range Lodge at 575-895-5652, or visit BlackRangeLodge.com.